I was pretty sure readers would find it interesting that a 40-year-old wife and mother was willing to put her life in danger to try and help convict suspected serial killer Felix Vail of the 1962 murder of his wife, Shirley Horton Vail. She was one of three women last seen with Vail who either died or disappeared and are now presumed dead.

Frenzel, who hid a tape recorder in her bra, gathered about 11 hours of face to face conversations with Vail, plus additional phone conversations after his arrest May 17. Yes, those tapes contain some incriminating statements. And, yes, the tapes can be used as evidence because in Texas one doesn’t have to inform a person their conversation is being recorded.

Frenzel certainly didn’t do this for money. She worked the case on her own time and was paid nothing. Her expenses total approximately $5,000. She simply wants what she views as justice. To help get it, she was willing to befriend Vail, a native of the Mississippi community of Montpelier, at his Canyon Lake, Texas home. She pretended to be working for an insurance company that was investigating a fire next to Vail’s property. But she was up front from the start about her name and occupation.

After four meetings with Vail alone in his storage-like building that serves as his home, Frenzel had the 74-year-old believing she was his girlfriend. And the two had never even kissed.

It fogs my brain that a man who lived in a house surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire would be so trusting with a private investigator who just walked up and knocked on his door one day. Especially after Clarion-Ledger reporter Jerry Mitchell wrote a series of articles beginning in November 2012 that detailed Vail’s connection to the three women. One would think Vail’s trust meter would’ve been at zero after that. And, yes, we know he read the articles because of his not-so-kind comments about Jerry in conversations with Frenzel.

I met Frenzel, who lives in Kerrville, Texas, a couple of months ago and interviewed her for approximately six hours in person, followed by more question-and-answer sessions via cell phone. This was a story where the tiniest details mattered, and I attempted to gather every nugget possible to paint the picture of how she snookered Vail.

It only took a few minutes into our interview to understand part of her arsenal. Frenzel is engaging, smart, quick-witted, and as passionate about her job as anyone I’ve met in a long time.

Yes, she was brave and determined to approach him. But she also admitted to being “scared” of Vail on more than one occasion.

I’ll say this with no hesitation and with a bit of bias: If Vail is convicted of the murder of his first wife, Jerry Mitchell should be a strong candidate for a Pulitzer Prize. His work helped convince Louisiana law enforcement to reopen the case.

And I don’t know what award goes to a person who does something extraordinary simply because he or she believes it’s the right thing to do. But Gina Frenzel deserves nationwide recognition for her selfless action.

As someone wrote to me after reading the story: “Sometimes real life outdoes ‘CSI’ — and with definitely better characters.”